The only way to make sure you’re buying a genuine Bose product is to buy directly from Bose or a Bose-authorised dealer. Bose products purchased by consumers directly from Bose or an authorised dealer, whether online, by telephone, from a catalogue or in a store, are genuine and carry the Bose limited warranty.

Buying from unauthorised dealers can be risky. Unless the dealer provides a receipt showing purchase from an authorised dealer, the products carry no warranty from Bose. Moreover, products purchased from unauthorised dealers may be counterfeit or stolen goods, and if you attempt to resell such products, you may be subject to significant civil liability and/or criminal penalties.

What to watch out for—and what to do

There are many counterfeit products in the marketplace. Bose is aware of sales of counterfeits of most types of Bose headphones, including QuietComfort 35, 25, 20/20i, 3, and 15, QuietControl 30, SoundLink, SoundSport, SoundTrue, SoundTrue Ultra, FreeStyle, IE2, MIE2/MIE2i, SIE2/SIE2i, OE2/OE2i, AE2/AE2i, and Bluetooth® headsets, as well as SoundLink III, II, Mini, Color, Micro, Revolve and Revolve+, and SoundWear Companion speakers by unauthorised sellers on popular auction and other e-commerce websites, and in flea markets. In some cases, sellers located in China claim to be selling genuine “OEM” headphones, but these products are fake. Typically, these products are sold at lower prices than those offered by Bose and its authorised dealers, but the prices are often not low enough to cause buyers to suspect that the products are counterfeit.

The counterfeit products and their packaging are extremely close in appearance to genuine Bose products, but they do not meet the high standards of performance found in genuine Bose products. Counterfeiters go to great lengths to make their products look like genuine products. They include warranty registration cards in the packaging and apply serial numbers to the products that copy genuine Bose serial numbers to make them look authentic. It is extremely difficult to distinguish fake products from the real ones. If you believe that you may have purchased counterfeit Bose products, we encourage you to contact Report_Counterfeits@bose.com so that we may be able to assist you in determining whether the product is counterfeit.

Headphones and wireless speakers are the Bose products that we have seen counterfeited most often, but we have also encountered counterfeits of some older speaker models, such as 101 and 301 speaker systems, and the Panaray 502 A loudspeaker. Occasionally, the BOSE trademark is applied to products that are unlike any that we currently produce, such as karaoke microphones. In all cases, your best protection against buying fakes is to purchase from an authorised dealer.

Three ways to protect yourself from fraud:Buy direct from Bose, either online, by telephone or in Bose retail stores. Bose.com is the official Bose Corporation website for residents of the United States and its territories. If you wish to purchase a product now, be confident that you will receive a genuine Bose product.

Look for the official Bose Authorised Dealer badge featured on some retailers’ websites.*

Contact us to enquire whether a dealer is authorised. If you reside in the US, call 1-800-999-2673 or email us at support@bose.com. If you reside outside the US, go to Bose Worldwide to find your country’s contact information. A Bose representative will check the name of the dealer or website from which you are considering a purchase and let you know whether it’s an authorised Bose dealer.

If you would like to report a suspected counterfeit Bose product, please send an email to Report_Counterfeits@bose.com. Bose appreciates your assistance in preventing the distribution of counterfeit products.